And to think I was sad IL gets so little attention during the presidential primaries and general election

The. Plot. Thickens.

At first glance, I figured Blagojevich was just nabbed with the usual "pay-to-play" corruption of naming family, friends, and campaign donors to plush state jobs and contracts. I mean, that's wrong too, but it's become par for the course, as sad as that is.

How wrong I was.

I read the full text of the criminal complaint, which was fascinating and whetted my appetite for law school. Let me know if you want me to forward it to you.

Basically they allege that Blagojevich has been involved in corrupt dealings since 2001 when he was still a congressman with his sights on higher office. But the two major whammies are from 2008.

The first is that he tried to leverage state resources to get members of the Chicago Tribune editorial board fired for being critical of his crooked administration (even if it wasn't crooked it would still be terribly inefficient). The Tribune Co., parent company of my beloved childhood newspaper the Chicago Tribune, has just filed for bankruptcy. You may have heard that the newspaper industry is crumbling. To offset some debts, the Tribune Co. has put the Chicago Cubs (a profitable yet losing ballclub) for sale. Blagojevich tried to tell the Tribune Co. that he would help the sale of the Cubs with state funds if the offending members of the editorial board (considering it's a historically Republican-leaning newspaper who endorsed Obama because they are tired of the mess that is politics, probably the whole board...) were fired. Nothing could renew my love of legitimate journalism more. I would take out a subscription if I thought they would deliver to Spain. Much as I love the bloggers and the political commentators on cable, one day we will wake up and miss the legitimate watchdog role filled by newspapers.

The second horrifying allegation is that Blagojevich tried to sell the vacant Obama Senate seat to the highest bidder, whether that came in the form of a cabinet position, a profitable non-profit job for his wife, or cash up front with the promise of big-time campaign fundraising later. Obama's hands seem impeccably clean. I've joked before that Blagojevich might even appoint himself, but in the document he considers that numerous times. The big question on everyone's minds is who "Senate Candidate 5" is because that is the candidate who offers to give Blagojevich fundraising money. The two most likely candidates are Jesse Jackson Jr. and Emil Jones Jr. If the identity of Senate Candidate 5 is revealed their political career is effectively over. Jones is probably on the brink of retirement anyway, but if it is Jackson that would really put a wrench in the works.

What is strangest is that I really don't think Blagojevich saw this coming. Throughout the criminal complaint, he is leveraging power to continue his political career, aspiring for a presidential run in 2016. I'm glad he got caught.

This situation leaves the vacant Obama Senate seat in serious doubt. According to the New York Times's The Caucus blog, "According to the Illinois state constitution, Mr. Blagojevich would have to be deemed incapacitated — by death, conviction or impeachment, for example — for that power to shift to new hands. There is no clause stating that an indictment restricts his powers." And if I know Rod Blagojevich he is not going down without a fight. Let's impeach him, ASAP.

My dad has misgivings about the Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn for some unknown reason, although at least he said it's a different kind of misgiving than those we feel towards a certain slimy corrupt Blagojevich. CHANGE.